What are unisex people names in Latin?

I really mean Latin language, NOT latin country languages like Spanish et cetera.

What are unisex people names in Latin?
The question is difficult to answer, if only because the naming conventions for men and women were not the same in classical Rome. A citizen male would have three names: a praenomen, which was like a first name; there were never all that many of them (these are names like Marcus, Gaius, Tiberius, Publius, etc.; a nomen, which was the name of his gens (typically translated as clan); and a cognomen, which generally designated a closer family unit within the gens, but could be given for other reasons (Marcus Tullius Cicero's cognomen came from an ancestor who had a wart like a chickpea - Latin cicer- on his nose). Further names could be given as honorifics because of some noble service.





So, let's take the name of a famous Roman - say, Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. This tells us that Publius is his praenomen, he's from the gens Cornelius, and that he's from the branch of the Cornelii that carries the cognomen Scipio. Africanus is a honorific name he was given because he defeated Hannibal in the battle of Zama, thus winning the 2nd Punic War on African soil.





So, how were women named? The feminine form of the gens name. Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus's daughter would be named.... Cornelia. His second daughter would be named... Cornelia Secunda. His third... Cornelia Tertia. Boring, isn't it?





Of course, that's not the only way women were named, but there was generally a gens name involved, and to my knowledge they're all of the first/second declension type, which means that they have separate forms for the masculine and feminine, which in turn means that the women and men would always have different names (even if they're different only by a couple of letters).





So my answer is a qualified no; there weren't any unisex names in Latin. Or rather, the gens names are unisex, but due to the inflected nature of Latin, they change their endings according to the person they're referring to.





Now, slave names are a different matter; I haven't read much on the subject, so I most certainly concede the possibility that certain slave names were unisex. What they might have been, I can't begin to guess.





Anyway, hope that answers your question.





*I have absolutely no idea what Scpwnz is talking about.
Reply:'Hermaphrodite.'
Reply:Same as English, just call them by the male ending if it's a girl and that means not giving a female ending to any name. William and no Willamina.
Reply:Greecemo, Kyphoherpies, Galatinjo, Galteratorian, Cheno, Jellolle





haha. read them out they're latin u'll know if you study it. Ask anyone latin, those are some of the best unisex names.
Reply:I knew someone in high school named Pax. That means peace in Latin. Nice name.
Reply:There are none. All names in Latin are for either a man or a woman, there are none that can be applied to either.
Reply:I'm sooo confused baby girl!!
Reply:there are none... In Latin speaking countries like Spanish as well Latin, names for females are made feminine usually by adding an A to a male version...





Names like everything else are either male or female.

fuchsia